Kavanagh and Assembly Vote to Protect Senior Centers

Plan rejects attempts to close the door on seniors

March 15, 2011

New York, NY – Today, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh joined colleagues in the legislature to advance a budget bill that would reject a proposal to strip $36 million in funding that currently supports senior centers throughout the city. The executive proposed reduction in Title XX funding, would force the City of New York to close the doors of 105 senior centers, including Stein Senior Center in Gramercy and John Paul II Friendship Center on the Lower East Side according to the City’s Department for the Aging. The Assembly proposal would continue the funding and keep the centers open.

“Closing our senior centers would be devastating to those in our community who rely on them,” said Kavanagh. “These centers play a vital role, and I will continue to oppose any attempt to cut their funding. Notwithstanding the difficult economic circumstance we face, we must ensure that we continue to provide needed services, especially to those who have made lifelong contributions to our communities.”

Previously, as part of the ongoing State budget negotiations, Kavanagh joined Assembly colleagues in a formal request to restore these funds, and followed up with a letter to Governor Cuomo that identifies funds recently available to be used to protect senior centers. Similar cuts that also would have closed center were successfully restored in last year’s budget.